Contributors: Aja Cheal, Marketing Executive and Evan Bridges, Head of IT & Support
Our Get To Know Us series takes a look at the journeys of some of the Enigen team in their career and their time here, to give you a real insight into what it’s like to work with us. Recently, our Marketing Executive Aja Cheal sat down with Head of IT & Support, Evan Bridges, who joined the team in May of 2015, to discuss his time at Enigen so far.
Evan: “Growing up I always had an interest in computers and technology in general, so much so that I volunteered at WireWorld – a games studio café in my hometown, where I helped with hardware and software configuration, running customer events and competitions, and all aspects of ‘front of store’ service. That interest persisted as I got older, and therefore I knew I’d want a job in the technology industry. I first worked at T-Mobile, where I engaged with customers on the frontline, offering technical support and resolving any issues.
Following my time at T-Mobile, I took a position at Tesco in their newly created “Tesco Tech Support” team, where my responsibilities involved providing first and second-line support working with a wide range of customer electronics, from toasters and kettles through to laptops and printers. The CRM tool used for all our customer interactions was Oracle Service Cloud (at the time known as Oracle RightNow), and in using this I developed a growing interest in how the department operated from a business perspective, and how this CRM software could support by providing insight and analytics to the data we dealt with every day. At this time, I decided to take a role with a non-customer facing Business Support Team – a move that was perceived by some as a step backwards (mainly due to the financial cut), but it meant I could direct my focus towards backend processes and gain greater exposure to the wider operating picture. The responsibilities of this team encompassed tasks like providing supporting metrics, fix rate, average handling times, and facilitating the front-end customer and technical service teams, as well as working with manufacturers to obtain support for the technical products sold through Tesco stores and online.
During my time at Tesco, I was promoted to a ‘RightNow Administrator’ and ‘RightNow Developer’ in turn, which involved focusing on the development of the CRM platform to facilitate both front-end and back-end processes for the department. My career progression through first line, second line, back-office support, and then system development, helped me understand a more complete picture of what a given ‘solution’ (in this case the CRM application) needed to deliver. In these roles, I recognised that ultimately software solutions are only as efficient as the people that use them. I enjoyed understanding problems and being able to fix them and this is when a consultant role started to become appealing to me. Prior to this point, I hadn’t formulated a concrete career objective, but my industry experience organically guided me towards this path.
Most importantly, taking part in this final piece of the end-to-end service journey provided me with experiences I can now look back on and say have been arguably the most critical moments of my professional development. What is technically the best way to solve a problem has no value if it does not work in synergy with all components, be the customers, end-users, insight/analytics, or other systems.”
“A recruiter came to me with an opportunity to work for a consultancy called Enigen as a Consultant. I instantly felt that the business was a good fit, and the interview process only confirmed that. Accepting this opportunity felt like a logical growth step in my career, offering not only professional advancement but also the chance to engage with multiple clients, dedicating time to address their technical challenges in a meaningful way. The role also aligned perfectly with my personal interest in IT and problem-solving, whilst providing the opportunity to exercise the synergistic solution delivery I was recognising towards the end of my Tesco career as the primary focus of my role, making the decision to accept all the more enticing.
I have now been with Enigen for over 8 years and have been fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to continue this career development across several roles of increasing responsibility. The progression through being a Consultant, Team Leader, Solution Manager, and Senior Manager allowed me to gain and develop many crucial skills, particularly across non-technical capabilities such as managing workloads (both personally and holistically), the importance of positive and productive delegation, the myriad of different ways to identify and resolve business risks, and many others. This experience has culminated in my current role of Head of IT & Support, where there are almost limitless opportunities to not only exercise what I have learned to date, but also to continue my growth in areas that resonate with me personally.
This progression has not come without challenges, and I particularly miss directly solving technical problems and ‘getting my hands dirty’. Working on changing my personal perception of what a problem “is” and how best to use my current skillset and responsibilities to affect positive change is a continual point of focus for me – learning to deliver this change at a strategic level over a larger field is more challenging, but equally rewarding.”
“IT as a subject is never static. I never reach a point of thinking ‘Now I know my job inside out’. This is due to always having new challenges such as new customers and new technologies that get updated and constantly change. Unlike my early employment experiences, I now have the chance to truly create and deliver success. Working for a company that adds value to businesses and the people who work for them is very important to me.
The intimate atmosphere at Enigen means that voices within the company are genuinely heard, and communicating with everyone including higher management feels natural. The collective energy of individuals with diverse skill sets working cohesively in the same direction is what I think makes the business successful.”
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